Bromley: Londonís top place to live

Bromley is the best place to live in London and one of only four areas in the capital with an increasing population, according to research.

East Street in Bromley.

The south London borough came first in a list of the most desirable locations in the capital based on value for money. House prices and average incomes were taken account of, as well as the overall quality of life.

The research, named Hot Housing Index 2016, was carried out by location specialist CACI for Property Week and published on 8 September. It assessed affordability, employability, internet connectivity, school provision, local amenities and public transport in the 31 London boroughs.

Bromley moved from third in last year’s poll to first place in 2016, scoring 61.6% overall.

Predictably, all London boroughs performed poorly on affordability, with E rankings, apart from Bexley, ranked D. But Bromley was given a C for the employment levels of its residents, only second to Richmond upon Thames (A) and Kingston upon Thames (B). It outperformed other boroughs for internet connectivity, schools, amenities and transport, receiving an A in all of these categories.

Also, the latest study carried out by the Office for National Statistics on net migration within Britain showed that Bromley was among the very few areas in London which saw a population increase in the year to June 2015. While the capital as a whole lost nine in every 1,000 residents, four of its boroughs increased their numbers: Havering (+6.95), Bromley (+4.18), Bexley (+1.72) and Sutton (+0.81).